Sacrifice

From The Rush Limbaugh Show, March 31, 2009

"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings, Where there's service, there's someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master." - Ayn Rand

My Mother is Almost 80

And Spring Moose

We had a large family and friends gathering yesterday, a surprise party. She was very pleased. Her actual birthday is about a week away but everyone except my son the, Alaska Architect Geek student trapped in Montana, was in town this weekend. On the way home last evening my daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and I saw 12 moose alongside the road in about 6 miles. The first four were running in single file across an open field glancing nervously back at where they came from.

Defenders of Wild Food

Defending Wild Food

Apparently Ashley Judd isn't too busy these days ... She's been out attacking Sarah Palin for supporting the "brutal Aerial killing of wolves," as part of Alaska's wildlife management program....An Alaska organization, Defenders of Wild Food, has crafted a response that's currently airing on TV in Anchorage and Fairbanks. It's one of the best political ads I've seen in a long time, and the ending is priceless:

http://www.defendersofwildfood.org/


http://corner.nationalreview.com/

Six Months

"Wait a year."

Tomorrow it will have been six months. Everyone told me wait at least a year before you try to make plans. They were right. At six months I have little enthusiasm for anything. I find myself unable to even figure out what to do each day, much less in the future. Everything I had planned to do involved Kate.
I survived, at least for now, the latest lay offs. This is a good thing because I couldn't afford to retire and really would have hated going and looking for a new job after 22 years at the current one. After the sigh of relief came the depression. I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive these layoffs and was already thinking about taking the summer off before I started looking for a new job. Now instead of that reality I have to, at a minimum for another four years, get up every morning and commute 50 miles to a job I have no interest in except the pay check. Of course my partner for 20 of those years was my Kate. Consequently everything and everybody reminds me of her all day long.
Maybe it'll get better in another six months.

"Change We Can Believe In"

Keep the Change

"Last week’s health-care summit made clear that, as far as the president is concerned, the question is not whether the U.S. will enact universal coverage but how. When Obama gets it enacted, most historians will revere him as the president who finally dragged barbaric Americans into the modern world. But some may note that the Obama system worsened results for the sick and killed the promising genomic industry, in which the U.S. currently enjoys a world-wide lead. These are the inevitable results of the Obama administration’s push for a statist health-insurance market that contains an underpriced Medicare as an option. The phony pricing for Medicare will draw vast numbers of enrollees, over 100 million in one estimate, and create a virtual single-payer health-insurance system. This system would control costs by rationing health care to the sick, especially when it comes to powerful, expensive new drugs. The U.K., for example, ranks last among the biggest economies in Europe in its uptake of cancer drugs and has the dreadful survival rates to prove it. If the U.S., which is by far the largest market for such drugs and the largest source of capital for their development, becomes a single-payer system, we can kiss this industry good-bye."

February 28, 2009

Kate's Birthday

Kate would have been 54 today.

I still have a job. I met with my manager on Tuesday, and for now, I'm not being laid off. Obviously he couldn't make any long range promises since the economy is in the toilet and the Socialist Democrats in power seemed determined to flush it away in their rush to convert America into a Socialist Nanny State. Even if I managed to hold on to my job until my intended retirement date, the President and the Congress may have put us so far in debt that no one in the middle class for the next 3 or 4 generations will be able to afford to retire. And if you could retire, with socialized medicine you'll be too sick to enjoy it because liberal government bureaucrats without Medical Degrees will decide what treatment your Doctor can prescribe for you while you wait years for routine surgery performed by overworked and under paid government doctors. Just like the Soviet Union of yesterday and England today. The poor Canadians will no longer have the option to come to the U.S. for surgery because the waiting times and quality of care won't be any better here than they have in the Great White North today. Of course none of these changes will effect the Democrats in power. Just like the Communists in the U.S.S.R., the leaders had the best medical treatment available. There was none of that standing in line and waiting for treatment for the dictators at the top. The Liberal Democrats in Washington today are no different than the Communists in China, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, the Castro brothers in Cuba or the Soviets of the old U.S.S.R. But this is "Change We Can Believe In!"
To paraphase a bumper sticker...
"I'll take freedom, a tax cut, smaller government, capitalism and my First and Second Amendment Rights - You keep The Change!"

The Day of The Moose

Here a Moose, There a Moose...

S-I-L and I were talking in the living room this morning when he noticed a young moose in the front yard. It turned out to be a young bull, most likely the same one that I posted pictures of the day after Christmas. He's been hanging out with the cow and calf in the immediate neighborhood since then. Today, however he is without his antlers, apparently they finally shed in the last couple of weeks. While we were admiring him my sister called on the telephonic communication device. Her husband and son had returned from a successful winter moose hunt and they invited us to come by and help butcher and process the large frozen moose in their garage. S-I-L had a previous engagement helping a friend to get ready to slaughter a couple hogs tomorrow. I was getting ready to go when I heard dogs barking in the area. A medium sized black and brown dog was in my front yard herding the young bull moose into the woods. He wasn't one of the barking dogs however. I stepped out on the back porch because Shadow was in his pen barking, the neighbor dog off through the woods in the back was barking and two other dogs were barking in the area. I recognized one of the dogs by the bark. He had a frantic high pitched bark and I had run him off several months ago when he was harassing moose in about the same area. Sure enough it was him and his yellow lab partner yapping at a large cow moose just outside of my back fence. I shouted in my best command voice, "Hey, get the Hell out of here!" They both quit barking and took off at a fast run off to the west. The cow watched them go and then trotted off to the east disappearing into the woods.
I spent the afternoon helping family cut up a moose. It was a large old moose so they ground it all into moose burger.

ALERT! ALERT!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE!

Mt. Redoubt still has not erupted!
I am still employed.
It's still cold and snowy but the daylight is increasing.
We have much nicer weather (so what else is new,) and a lot less snow than Juneau.
We are a lot warmer than Fairbanks, Ft. Yukon and Prudhoe Bay.

More exciting developments to come!

Home Appliances

A Full Weekend

My dishwasher quit working, oh, maybe 2 years ago. It was practically new. I never got around to fixing it because I live alone and only generate a sink full of dishes about every three days. The oven quit working about a year ago. The range still worked and I have a backup oven in the kitchen in in my garage so I never got around to fixing it. Besides I have two microwaves. The motor in my treadmill failed about the same time as the oven. I saw that as an opportunity to quit exercising and get even fatter so I never got around to fixing it. The rear bearing in the Subaru still needs replacing but I can't afford to fix it right now. Monday, my clothes washer just quit. Now that's a problem. I can't figure a way to ignore this one. Unless, I take my laundry to my mother's house on my weekend visits and do it there. That will work! No, wait, my son-in-law is staying with me. I'm NOT going to do his laundry. Damn! I guess I have to fix the stupid washing machine.

Actually my S-in-L and I have replaced the control board and a fuse in the dishwasher. But it still doesn't work. Also I have a new motor for the treadmill but have been avoiding installing it because "it's too hard...," and I'd then lose my excuse for not using the darn thing. We haven't looked at the oven yet.

*Edit* Oh yeah, the vacuum cleaner burned up this week too. They burn up trying to get Husky hair out of rugs. I wonder if in the long run it would be cheaper to buy new rugs than vacuum cleaners.
*EDIT2* Washing machine fixed. Broken switch on the lid. Duct taped it into on position until I get a new one.

Google Street View

Waiting for daylight...

We started into work this morning. The temps were
in the 40s and the roads were wet but clear of ice.
About half way there a phone call alerted us to the
schools, buses and what have you still being closed.
My brother called his work and discovered his building
wasn't open either, so we turned around and returned
home. Once home, I called my work and found out my
facility was open. I'll probably go to work later this
morning after the traffic dies down.

Meanwhile I got the idea to look at my workplace from
Google Street view. Here it is...














The fire truck parked in front told me that the
Google probably drove by when we were having
a fire drill. If so my coworkers and I would
be standing in our parking lot. I negotiated around
to the back of the building and there we all were.
I'm in the group marked with the arrow, immortalized
by Google Street View.

That Was One Scary Commute

And a weather update...

A 1500 mile Pineapple express warm front slammed into the Alaska mainland yesterday. It blasted the Arctic cold front off the Alaska map, pushing it off to the east where it has begun sinking into the midwest, (sorry Minnesota!)

The temperatures rose around 50 degrees with high winds. Last night it was freezing rain on top of the ice and snow packed roads. For some reason my brother and I came to work anyway. We lost count of the number of vehicles in the ditch on the way to Anchorage but the radio says more than 150 in the area. All the schools, people-mover buses and military bases are closed. My company sent us an e-mail telling us that the office wouldn't be open until 10 am. Of course you'd have to be at work to get the email and I had already been at my desk for 2 hours.

The roads were obviously horrible all the way in. But when we got to Anchorage itself they became scary. Inches of wet black ice completely covered the pavement. All along the road the semi-trucks were pulled off to the side of the road putting on chains. Any paved road with a hill was impassible.

We're going to head out and try to make it home in one piece in a couple of hours. Hopefully the rain and traffic has worn down the ice a bit. There is a good chance I'll be staying home tomorrow.

Another Year

Maybe it'll get better in 2009

Kate and I always spent New Years Eve together. I don't recall that we ever went out to a party or celebration, neither of us were into loud parties or being around drunk people. That's why our social lives were family get togethers, quiet dinners for two at Evangelo's Restaurant or making dinner at home and watching movies from the couch. I spent New Years Eve alone except for a sleeping old husky next to the recliner and a frightened husky panting and pacing. Shadow is terrified of firecrackers. My neighbors loudly celebrate New Years and the 4th every year. I went to bed at 11 but at midnight was joined but a shaking 75 lb husky attempting to crawl under me in the bed. We were awake until the explosions stopped at 1 am. The -23 F temperatures must have driven them indoors early. Usually they stay up at least until 2 am frightening my dog.

Weather update: The Thermometers are still OFL and we are going to get a little wind for couple of days. Wind chill tonight of -38 F.